


Act of Mercy

by Taifics



Series: Paradoxes [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Doctor-Master-Missy relations, F/M, Gen, Spoilers s10e12, kiss, retrospection thinking included, self-flirting, thinking about the Doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 08:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11399130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taifics/pseuds/Taifics
Summary: Relationship between the Master and Missy is complex. The Doctor seems to be the core of everything.





	Act of Mercy

Time was passing painfully slowly on this bucolic countryside trap he happened to be stucked in. Long years of life in disguise seemed to be much shorter and much funnier than watching the Doctor helping humans, planning to protect them or chatting with his turned-into-toaster friend. The only reason he did not immediately blow them all up was mainly... himself or rather herself. Him-future-herself. He had to agree he was intrigued by that concept – mighty concept of being a woman so perfectly cold, focused, enigmatic...

If only the Doctor could have a half of her personality he would be spending most of the time in this merry-hell trying once again to show him the core of his stupidity. Oh, Doctor, Doctor! In his mind he was just some human-like idiot who was tryng to walk on the grass and not trample a single blade simultaneously. Damn hypocrite, he thought, walking around alone. Doctor was a Time Lord although he didn't get what that mean at all. He was not supposed to make friends on the Earth or other similar planets where inhabitants had brains smaller than grains of sand and lifespans of mayflies! He was showing off, impressing them with these time-and-space-dates of his yet sooner or later he was leaving them all screwed, dead or lost in other dimensions. And it was him, the Master, who was the bad one! When he, _that bad one_ , had a good day he could almost imagine feeling pity for those so-called companions of the reckless Time Lord. And the worst was that the Doctor was so naive, so _sweet_ with them! He wanted to be so pathetically good, he did not want to _hurt_ them but still kept doing that. Hurting them, killing them, loosing them.

Once upon a time, the Master was trying to show the Doctor some kind of parody of how he saw him and, at the same time, how the Doctor should actually act like on the Earth. Back then, he was calling himself Harold Saxon (he so loved disguises, he did and still he does!) – he was young and charming, had human companion – Lucy, screwdriver, TARDIS and stuff. “See me! See yourself in me!” he was almost internaly screaming then. But he was over-confident, mad, full of new-found energy of his young body and he lost... Well, not exactly lost. He imagined that as a winning in some twisted way. He left the Doctor alone again. That WAS winning.

Another time, when he encountered his old friend, the Master was even more insane with the drums throbbing inside his head like a real hammer, his body bursting out with energy burning him up and hunger eating him on the inside. Couldn't fight the Doctor off in such state, could he?

After that he landed back on Gallifrey and was cured. Yes, there he was again: him-proper-self – older, in control, drumming... disappeared. Oh, that was the worst and the best! He was trapped in a cell on his home planet and traumatized in silence, alone. Tortures! No sound! Tortures! No sound! No pain! No anything left of his lovely, familiar pain! But control was finally gained, gained, gained. He was on Gallifrey... Gallifrey was saved. Bloody Doctor couldn't do anything properly. It supposed to be his only spectacular act of destruction... And he fixed it! The Master thought that destroying that old planet would make the Doctor anyhow more like him in the end but no, of course not! He despised that fool! Despised!

Then the Master escaped from Gallifrey; escaped, ruled, lost and here he was – dethroned king in a lovely village full of humans, the Doctor and... fortunately – his-future-self. _Her_.

Screw the Doctor! He has found someone better!

The Master smiled sharply, thinking of Missy while walking among the trees in the nearby forest. Evening was coming, air was fresh and cool. Perfect simulation of the real evening it was. Nicely done.

And then she appeared out of nowhere.

He smiled even wider, seeing Missy.

That was amusing! Oh, so amusing it was! Wherever he went during that ultimately boring period of disgustingly linear time he was sure to meet her. They were choosing the same paths all the time, making the same gestures, speaking the same lines and exchanging similar jokes. He would hate it maybe as he loved to be his own and alone but that was something entirely different. She was him – the same and unfamilliar at once.

“Here, what a surprise, dear Me,” he said politely, nodding his head, still smiling.

“Oh, dear Me, I wouldn't call it exactly a surprise,” she replied as politely, mimicking him perfectly.

Missy joind him in silence. They kept walking slowly back, towards the village.

“Thinking about the Doctor, I suppose,” she said after a while. “Contemplating his foolishness again?”

“You do read my mind,” he agreed with a faint hint of astonishment.

“Not precisely. It is my mind as well, I remind you,” she pointed out.

“You know that really turns me on, don't you?” said the Master, as he couldn't resist being slightly kinky when it came to her.

“Shut it, Junior,” replied Missy, giving him cold gaze.

He thought he liked that gaze of hers. He, in fact, knew it well. He saw it about dozens of times in a mirror. Yet, although his eyes were giving him the same look, they were much different - brownish and not so purely icy-blue. He definitely liked his future eyes much more. Hazel was too warm for his taste. Blue was better. That shade especially.

“Stop being so puppy-like, I beg you,” she did sigh with some sort of impatience. “I was unable to be myself for much too long due to some unpredictable circumstances. There was no killing, no chances of any, even tiny world domination and only never-ending Doctor's lectures about being a good girl. So do not dare to annoy me with your poor attempts of self-flirting cause it makes me hungry for a pretty little self-murder. I do starving for violence. Do not try me. You would regret it and I would do as well... Maybe.”

“Oh, don't be bitch,” said the Master, rolling his eyes, bored a bit with such a long speech. “I'm just being a gentelman.”

“In a way as sophisticated as your driving skills,” replied Missy, mimicking him once again. “Well... Yet... I must admit, I liked that about being you, actually. Being straightforward, rough and so absurdly manly.”

“Self-flirting,” hummed the Master after a moment, tasting this word on his tongue. “Think, I like that.”

Silence fell and it was him again who broke it.

“We cannot change the Doctor,” he said dead serious this time.

“Indeed, yet you cannot say we did not try,” she acknowledged and then add with her voice somewhat affected (Master frowned), “On the other hand, he's constantly trying to change us...”

“I was thinking about him being such a blind hypocrite...”

“I know your thoughts. Do not waste oxygen in vain,” ordered Missy. “But, in fact, so we are.”

“Oh, are we?” asked the Master with genuine marvel.

“Tell me, how many times did we try to kill the Doctor but actually we did not intend to finish him off at all? We were close but never...”

“What are you implying, Missy?” he wondered with sparkle of anger.

“Oh, he's our enemy, isn't he? But it has never stopped him from being our best friend. ”

The Master did not replied this time.

“What's up, koala-man?” asked Missy, smiling. “Are you going to hide the truth beneath the mask of silence now and then, out of sudden, explode with anger and denial, maybe? You have it coming, I sense.”

Before she could make a move, he did stand face to face with her but not exploded at all. He was cold and stable, surprisengly steady. Missy was frozen with surprise.

“I would never deny. Never, ever deny,” he whispered. “I guess, you don't know me so well. You forgot bits of me. I would not bother myself thinking of him if he was just an enemy. He's so much more than that and that's why he's the worst and most hated of my many enemies. ”

He stopped speaking for a moment and only kept observing Missy's face inches from his own, listening to her breathing, almost hearing the double-beat of her hearts.

“Just because I do care,” continued the Master, “he's disgusting to me beyond imagination and I may kill him finally.”

Missy simply nodded.

“It would be an act of mercy,” he said in the end with no expression. “For both of us... In the end.”

“You are right,” she said as they continued to walk.

The Master was sure she meant his talking about killing the Doctor being an act of mercy but then she added:

“I may not know you so well.”

“But seriously, Missy...” he said subtly frowned after a while. “Koala-man?”

She looked at him having playful sparks in her eyes and they both started to laugh. They were pacing slowly and laughing so hard that they ended up stopping and gasping for breath.

Missy wiped out a tear of joy from her eye.

“Just look at you! Evil bouncy ball!”

“Hey! Missy...” he almost purred and then started to sing quietly, “You're so fine. You're so fine you blow my mind...”

She smiled.

“You have a horrible taste for human pop songs, you know that, don't you?”

The Master took a step towards Missy and stopped just in the front of her, grinning wickedly. She did not react in any way.

“But I do like this one,” she said finally, looking up at him. “So that's how it came across my mind? Hilarious.”

“Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey,” whispered the Master clearly amused.

“Are you quoting the Doctor now, you sausage?” she asked, making funny offended-to-the-core face.

“Maybe, maybe,” he replied, still coming closer and closer.

Missy considered stepping back but if it was a fight then she will not be the one to lose. She took a step closer to him.

“Kissy-Missy,” murmured the Master. “I owe myself one.”

“Kiss yourself,” she said, making perfectly poker face this time.

“Literally or methaporically?,” he asked inches from her face, searching for a sign of approval.

Missy was up to play along.

“Master-Disaster,” she whispered. “Better go and kiss the Doc.”

“He would be pretty surprised if we did,” said the Master with husky laugh.

“I would call it a very fine distraction. Keep it for one day, dear. Would be useful.”

“Don't you tell me you did... and that I will?” he somewhat gasped, making scared face.

“Maybe, maybe,” she said, repeating his previous line.

For a moment they were just staring at each other, trapped in the silent struggle for wordless domination. Who was going to move first, who was more impatient, who would be the winner, who would lose the fight? It was all about creating paradoxes which the Master was rather fond of. He was actually not quite sure if the time energy wouldn't blow them up if they... Well, as he said once, he would never be so self-destructive... If it was not necessary, of course. And now, was it? Worth risking his own existence? Meddling with his own timeline? Speaking, dancing, fighting was one thing but... Oh, that was no doubt something utterly different and more dangerous. _Dangerous_. That was the proper word. Did he ever restrained himself from something because it was... _dangerous_? Quite the opposite... So...

Yet his chain of thoughts happened to be suddenly ripped apart for it was, to his utter surprise, not him who made the decision. Before he could prevent it from happening, collect himself properly or react in any way, he felt her lips on his own and found himself kissing back. It was just a matter of seconds, fleeting but electrifying, firm and intense. The vibe around was yet quite bizarre. He could almost hear the walls of the universe crackling slightly like a glass beneath their kiss. Moreover, he could hear the drums! _Collapse, collapse, collapse..._ he have found himself thinking. This would be his final act of destruction that could torn every single being alive apart. _Alive_ , he thought yet in the end. He would not be anymore... _No, no, no!_

They stopped both at the same time, killing each other with furious gazes as they separated.

“I would never be so self-destructive,” she said coldly.

“Neither would I,” he replied with some odd anger, hearing only silence in his head again.

Oh, and what if he would, he thought looking at her with wide smile now spreading slowly across his features.

“Hypocrite as always,” she said, reading his mind again.

“That would be an act of mercy for both of us, I guess,” he said, thinking of the Doctor.

“And for him,” she nodded, smiling back.

“And for the others,” he added.

“As if you care,” she said with a hint of disbelief.

“Obviously, I don't,” he claimed.

“Of that I'm sure,” she agreed.

With no further words they've got back to silent walking towards the village.

The Master felt freakily pleased.

Missy yet was clearly confused.

Both wondering which one of them was now greater hypocrite.

 


End file.
